Maleficent

The beloved fairytale of Sleeping Beauty gets a revamp, this time told from the neglected perspective of wicked fairy Maleficent.

Once upon a time, after many suffering years, King Stefan (Sharlto Copley) and Queen Ula (Miranda Richardson) finally conceive a daughter, Aurora (Elle Fanning.) But when they leave evil fairy Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) off the guest list for Aurora's christening, dire consequences result! Maleficent curses the Princess, proclaiming that, on her sixteenth birthday she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. A good fairy manages to weaken the curse: instead of death, Aurora will fall into eternal slumber only to be awoken by True Love's kiss

Maleficent is Walt Disney Pictures contribution to the trend of modernized fairy-tales, in the vein of Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror, Mirror. The studio has taken on quite a lot of talent both behind and in front of the camera. The supporting cast boasts seasoned British character actresses Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville (both veterans of some hard-hitting English working class dramas such as and ). Also on board are rising actors like Juno Temple (St Trinian's franchise) and Sam Riley (). Prince Charming will be played by young heartthrob Brenton Thwaites . Meanwhile, hold on to your hat, no less than 3 of the Jolie-Pitt offsping will apear in the movie! Four-year-old Vivienne Jolie-Pitt will make her film debut portraying the child version of Princess Aurora, whereas siblings Pax (8) and Zahara (7) play non-speaking roles.

The script is written by Linda Woolverton, who contributed the script for animation classics and . Hard to imagine anyone better suited for a project like Maleficent!